Art for all
Dallas’ Katy Trail will debut new public art biennial in 2027
KTX Biennial will debut in spring 2027 along Dallas’ Katy Trail.
Dallas' most popular jogging trails will fill with art next year: A new contemporary public art biennial called KTX Biennial will debut in spring 2027 along Dallas’ Katy Trail.
"The KTX Biennial marks Texas’ first biennial of its kind dedicated to public art and provides an open-air platform for engaging with ambitious contemporary artworks, free and accessible to all," says a release.
Organized by Friends of the Katy Trail executive director Amy Bean and Katy Trail art director Amanda Dillard Shufeldt, the inaugural event will invite New York-based curator Jovanna Venegas to organize a display of nearly a dozen existing and newly commissioned works by living artists from across the world. Venegas, the curator at SculptureCenter, has an international reputation for exhibiting and commissioning major works by living artists.
The Dallas presentation will span the 3.5-mile former railroad corridor running through Dallas’ Uptown, Knox, and Highland Park neighborhoods, which attracts 2 million annual visitors, they say. Artworks will be thoughtfully integrated into the trail’s natural environment, organizers say.
"Building on the Katy Trail’s existing public art program - which has featured work from the likes of Iván Argote, Eddie Martinez, Will Boone, Nic Nicosia, Carolyn Salas, and more - the Biennial thoughtfully integrates art into its natural environment, creates new avenues for discovery for local and national audiences, and fortifies Dallas’ standing as an international art destination," the release says.
Beyond the artworks that fill the trails, the event will include educational programs, public activities, panel conversations, and partnerships with local institutions and organizations, organizers say.
“The KTX Biennial grows directly out of our belief that the Katy Trail belongs to everyone," says Bean in the release. "By bringing ambitious contemporary art into an open-air setting, free and accessible to all, we are inviting both longtime visitors and first-time audiences to experience the Trail in an entirely new way. This Biennial strengthens the Trail’s role not only as a place for recreation, but also as a space for creativity, reflection, and shared discovery."
The inaugural KTX Biennial will open in spring 2027 and will be free and open to the public.
